Not only was Woodrow Wilson the 28th president of the U.S. from 1913 to 1921, he was also governor of New Jersey from 1911-1913 and won a Nobel Prize. But, his views on race and his support of segregation over a century ago, are enough to convince public universities to take his name off of prominent buildings.
The latest to succumb to the pressure for erasing any trace of a racist history is Princeton University, which has announced that it will remove Wilson’s name from the building that houses the School of Public and International Affairs. The building is being renamed the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
Just four years ago, the last election cycle you may notice, the Ivey league school had voted not to change the name.
A few weeks earlier, Monmouth University, also in New Jersey, removed Wilson’s name from one of its most well-known buildings. Camden New Jersey’s Woodrow Wilson High School is also being renamed.
According to AP,
The trustees said they had taken what they called “this extraordinary step” because Wilson’s name was not appropriate “for a school whose scholars, students, and alumni must be firmly committed to combatting the scourge of racism in all its forms.”
…the conclusions “may seem harsh to some” since Wilson is credited with having “remade Princeton, converting it from a sleepy college into a great research university,” and he went on to become president and receive a Nobel Prize.
